lifeinaction
DoingBusinessinCarlsbad

 

OIED work 125

OIED commuter 125 OIED life 3 125

 

Workforce development &
small-business assistance

Carlsbad Commuter app

Carlsbad Life in Action Recruiter


 

2024 Carlsbad Business Survey is Open

The City of Carlsbad has launched its 2024 Carlsbad Business Survey. This survey is a confidential and convenient way for local business owners and leaders to share feedback about Carlsbad as a place to do business. 

You can take the survey here: carlsbadca.gov/BusinessSurvey 
It should only take about 15 minutes to complete. 

About the Survey
  • The survey will be open through January 2024.
  • The survey is intended for business owners, executive management, and senior leaders who have knowledge of the overall operations and direction of the business.
  • Responses will be anonymized and aggregated with other responses. No individual or business information will be shared or published.
  • The survey asks about different aspects of current business operations, such as workforce and hiring needs, access to clients and customers, and permitting and regulatory concerns. It also asks about future growth expectations and feedback on the business climate in Carlsbad.
  • The survey is conducted every two years to ensure the city understands current challenges and trends in the business community.
  • The City of Carlsbad appreciates your time and participation in this survey. Your feedback will help improve services and support for the local business community.
  • For any questions related to the survey, please contact our economic development team at business@carlsbadca.gov.

Thank you for taking the time to ensure the City of Carlsbad is better informed about the state of the business community!

Doing business

The economic development team is here to serve and support the city’s business community. Whether you are a small business or our largest tech employer, the city wants to make sure your business thrives in Carlsbad. The city team is here to help with getting your business license, bidding on projects and contracts or meeting with our development services team about permits and processes. You can learn more about the benefits of starting or expanding a business in Carlsbad at our Doing Business in Carlsbad story map. If you are a business looking for a new space in Carlsbad, please email economic development staff at business@carlsbadca.gov.

Useful resources 

Looking to start your own business? Our questionnaire is designed to link small businesses with local resources, providing information to tackle some of the top challenges prospective small businesses commonly face.

The Guide to Opening an Eating Establishment provides insight on where you can open an eating establishment in our city and how the process works. Useful information for food truck and sidewalk vendors can be found on our website as well. 

New state and local environmental regulations are being phased in over the next couple of years. Find information on these regulations, as well as resources for your staff and customers, on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle page. 

Talent attraction & retention

One of the City Council’s strategic focus areas is bringing quality jobs to the city in today’s globally competitive economy. Carlsbad's Life In Action initiative is a resource for employers looking to land that perfect candidate. It provides additional tools, such as a hiring toolkit with media assets, brochures and infographics, to make the case for why the job in Carlsbad is the right one. 

The Carlsbad Job-Readiness Room is a free program that helps residents build job skills and bolster their chances of landing a new job in Carlsbad. The platform is powered by Bendable, a learning marketplace that allows people to discover new knowledge and skills through online courses, in-person events and other learning resources.

Economic Snapshots

Carlsbad Economic Snapshot FY 2022-2023 Q3

Economic Development Strategic Plan

Carlsbad Economic Development Strategic Plan

Biennial Business Report

The biennial business report provides an understanding of specific attributes of Carlsbad’s business climate, including workforce and hiring needs, access to clients and customers, and permitting and regulatory concerns, among other issues for Carlsbad’s business community.

2022 Carlsbad Business Report

Connect with us

Carlsbad has a range of options for businesses to establish, grow and thrive. If you are ready to learn more about doing business along the creative coast or have general questions about doing business in our city, contact the Innovation & Economic Development Department at business@carlsbadca.gov

News headlines

Carlsbad earns new certification for excellent use of data

Post Date:06/21/2023

The City of Carlsbad was selected as one of seven new cities to receive the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification for 2023. The certification recognizes cities for exceptional use of data to inform policy decisions, allocate funding, improve services, evaluate program effectiveness and engage residents.

Some examples of the city’s effective use of data highlighted include:

  • Road collision heatmaps and other data used to inform engineering, education and enforcement efforts as part of the Safer Streets Together Plan to achieve a 19% decrease in all injury collisions.
  • Evaluation of the city’s staff telecommuting policy, which found it reduced employee commute time by 47,000 hours and saved between $300,000 - $400,000. It also helped improved traffic conditions for residents and eliminate 424 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, supporting the city’s sustainability and Climate Action Plan goals.
  • City budget and finance processes, which require data and alignment with the City Council’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, ensure funds are efficiently and effectively allocated to address the most important priorities of the community.

Following this achievement, the city will gain access to free resources and expert partners to continue to improve and grow its data practices and identify new and more effective ways to evaluate city services, programs and policies to improve performance.

“By earning this certification, the city is committing to continuous data-driven improvement to innovate and deliver better results for all who live, work and play in Carlsbad,” said the city’s Chief Innovation Officer David Graham.

Carlsbad joins 62 other cities that have achieved this distinction since the certification was established in 2017.

The What Works Cities Certification program, launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America, is the first-of-its-kind standard of excellence for data-driven, well-managed local government.

More information
What Works Cities Certification Program
What Works Cities news release
David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer, david.graham@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-5992

 

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